20 Mar 2014

BR's Top Target: LFC to make €20m bid for attacking 'phenomenon' compared to Cavani

In February, Liverpool scouted Udinese striker Luis Muriel twice in two weeks, and with the summer transfer window only a few months away, it seems LFC's scouting liked what they saw, to the extent that the Colombian goalscorer is now reportedly Brendan Rodgers' top transfer target for the summer.

According to Italian newspaper Tutto Mercato today:

* Brendan Rodgers tried to sign Muriel last summer, but Udinese refused to sell.

* Liverpool are now willing to offer €20m for Muriel.

€20m may not be enough, though. Udinese owner Giampaolo Pozzo insists that the striker is worth much more than that, and in a recent interview, he told reporters:

"He [Muriel] has a price. I don’t put clauses in contracts but €20m euro for a striker of great worth is nothing. For [Edinson] Cavani the price is €60m euro"

Liverpool monitored Muriel last summer, with multiple reports claiming that Reds planned to bring him in to replace Luis Suarez, who seemed desperate to leave Anfield. At the time, Italian newspaper Tutto Mercato reported:

"Scouts from Liverpool and Barcelona were in attendance last night [8th August 2013] to watch Muriel against Siroki Brijegin [in the Europa League]".

When specifically asked in September about Liverpool's interest, Muriel's Agent, Helmut Wennin, told calcionews24:

“Muriel is a player of talent and potential, so I think it is normal that big clubs want him."

When quizzed about LFC's interest after Colombia's 1-0 victory against Serbia in January, Muriel appeared open to a move away at some point. He told Eldeportivo:

"The Pozzo family supported me and wants me to have another year in Udine. This is what they told me. The idea is to grow, and in the future to go to a bigger club" .

Muriel's strike partner, Antonio Di Natale is a big fan of the Colombian, and when asked about Muriel's qualities in June, he told FIFA.com:

“Make a note of the name Luis Muriel. He’s got all the qualities needed to become a phenomenon, and in a few years Luis will be a great champion.”

Muriel has 4 goals/1 assist in 18 serie A appearances this season, which isn't that great.

Worth €20m?



Author:


18 comments:

  1. Coutinho's stats before Liverpool wouldn't have got me excited either but we all know how much he improved under Rodgers' coaching. I'm too busy enjoying the title run in to be preoccupied with the next transfer window anyway.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Not for me. He's quickish, but is that really express pace? His technique seems a bit rough and ready. Haven't seen enough of him really to judge, but is he really a premier league striker? Plenty of players of his type around in the Championship. We could use more pace up front, but it's meaningless if the player's skillset is incomplete. Not sure. Anyone watched a lot of his full games?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Let's make them an offer at the price we value him at, and move on if necessary.

    If we get CL, combined with Suarez's presence and the team tearing it up, we will become an attractive destination again.

    Let players force moves to us. Time to start acting like a top, top side again.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Reminds me of the Suarez video of Ajax

    ReplyDelete
  5. He is definitely one of the few highly rated bright prospects in the Bundesliga .

    ReplyDelete
  6. Udinese most probably will want between 30-40 million for this guy. Will FSG spend that much on one player? Unless Suarez does decide to leave then they might go all out and blow a ridiculous amount on a replacement. I have not seen Muriel play. 4 goals in 18 matches worth 30-40 million pounds? Lets not forget there is a massive difference between the Serie A and EPL two. Would be a huge risk which FSG most definitely will pass on.

    ReplyDelete
  7. what do we need another striker for? i mean we have the best striking partnership in the pl and borini + aspas as cover

    ReplyDelete
  8. Asap isn't even a championship striker and we need to improve to champs league standard...that'll be why!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Big size body...overload but good dancing player

    ReplyDelete
  10. He may be 'playing out of his skin' to get in the Brazil squad. But you still need the ability to achieve what he has, so he clearly has it in him.
    I could play out of my skin, but it wouldn't make me good, lol.
    If he produced half what he has this season, next season, it would still be a decent return.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I have only couple of times to say this.
    We will finish above manu this season..

    ReplyDelete
  12. Aspas cannot be any worse than Torres at the moment who has scored 4 EPL goals the whole season!

    If we had to sign another striker then they would still have to play second fiddle to Suarez and Sturridge. What Aspas needs is minutes on the pitch. He has only had 374 EPL minutes to try and impress. If he is still part of the squad next season then minutes on the pitch is exactly what he will get due to CL fixtures.

    Technically Aspas is a good player. Problem is that he is a bit to lightweight though which our coaching staff hopefully would have been working on by giving him an eating plan and gym schedule to beef him up.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I read this somewhere yesterday and then I went to look up his stats and saw that he hasn't played that many games really. What's the problem there? Is he injury prone?

    ReplyDelete
  14. hopefully next season as well

    ReplyDelete
  15. Quick fast breakaway is LFC game plan now from last year's tiki taka so I would prefer to get speedsters and let Suarez/Sturridge do the finishing work of course additional proven goal scorers would be welcome.side note...would love to see Luis Alberto given some game time.

    ReplyDelete
  16. He seems injury prone. 18 appearances?

    ReplyDelete
  17. I want this Shaqiri guy. Perfectly built for EPL.

    ReplyDelete
  18. He's not worth 20m maybe the 15m mark for a player of his potential but coming from Seria A and not being proven doesn't merit such a high price. Clubs know we dont get bullied into over paying anymore we make an offer that we think is fair and stick by that. If we are serious about signing him I think we would be able. He's the right kind of striker for us. Younger with reasonable experience and loads of promise would fit nicely into our team as a backup for SAS. Especially with CL football next season we can easily accommodate a striker of his talent.

    ReplyDelete